


The Most Wonderful Babysitter Ever

by TheFavoriteSpice



Series: Growing Up [1]
Category: Astaire/Rogers RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 17:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6248971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFavoriteSpice/pseuds/TheFavoriteSpice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten-year old Ginger is stuck in a New York City hotel room with a babysitter scheduled to arrive. Afraid of being bored, Ginger sneaks out after her parents have gone and before the sitter arrives. After she bumps into a famous dancer and his sister on the sidewalk, she has a night that one could only dream of happening in real life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Wonderful Babysitter Ever

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fred/Ginger fanfiction, so please leave any helpful comments, either good or bad. Any review will help me along!  
> Also, you may notice that since the year is 1921, Fred Astaire would be 22, and Ginger would be, of course, 10. Yet, if we were to keep along real life ages, Phyllis would actually be 13. In this alternate universe, she is closer to Fred's age (we'll say she's around 21) than closer to Ginger's young age of 10.

* * *

"Why do I have to have a babysitter?" Those very words kept echoing throughout the hotel room, made by a ten-year old girl named Virginia, who went by the nickname Ginga, or Ginger, thanks to her younger cousin.

 

Her mother Lela, who was now getting impatient with her only daughter, only sighed and rolled her eyes. She had explained not once, not twice, not three times, but six times that Ginger was still much too young to stay by herself in a hotel room. It was one thing back home in Fort Worth, but here in New York City, why, that was unheard of! "John and I are going out tonight and you are to stay here. Be a good girl until the babysitter comes, okay Ginger? Ginger? Virginia Katherine Rogers. Answer me now," Lela demanded.

 

Ginger sank down farther into the comfy chair she was in. "Yes mother," she said. She didn't mean to be a rebel, she just hated the thought of her mother and stepfather having a good time that night and leaving her in a boring hotel room with a boring babysitter doing boring things. From her viewpoint, it was going to be a _very_ boring night.

 

"That's my girl," Lela responded, going over and kissing Ginger's forehead. "Are you almost ready John?" she now asked.

 

John quickly stepped out and over to his wife. "Yes my dear," he replied affectionately. "Goodbye Ginger. Stay safe and be polite to the babysitter."

 

Even though she didn't feel like she wanted to be polite, Ginger was going to have to be. "Goodbye," she mumbled, not making eye contact with either one of them to make sure they didn't see her disappointment in her eyes. She faced toward the window and watched outside. She heard the footsteps of her parents as they walked down the hall and then, finally, she saw them leave. Ginger wished that they would come running back to tell her that they had changed their minds and that they would bring her with them. It wasn't fun being ten. Ten-year olds never have any fun. Left behind and left out on anything. The girl let her eyes wander throughout the room. If only there was something she could do while she waited. Her feet tapped on the ground with every tick tock that the clock on the wall made. The time was now seven o'clock. Lights that weren't turned on before were now coming on in the apartment buildings across the street. "Everyone's having fun except for me," she said to herself. Ginger kept her gaze on the doorknob. She could unlock it, she could escape, if she only had time before the babysitter got here. A mischievous smile appeared on her face and with a glance out the window, she knew she had time. No one was coming into the hotel, they were only leaving. "Goodbye old stuffy hotel room!" she exclaimed, jumping up and running toward the door. "I'll be back later! Much later!" And with that, she opened the door and made her grand exit. 

* * *

 

Little Ginger skipped down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. She watched a woman in her mid twenties walk into the hotel. _Probably the babysitter,_ Ginger thought. When the woman's back was turned, Ginger discreetly stuck her tongue out at her. "Ha-ha," she whispered. She started skipping over the cracks in the sidewalk, looking down at her feet and not watching where she was going. Suddenly, she accidentally bumped into a young man who stumbled backwards because he too was not watching where he was walking. "Ow," Ginger said, as she had fallen backwards and almost hit her head on the sidewalk. She rubbed her right elbow with her left hand and winced when it started to bleed.

 

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." The man bent down to take a look at Ginger's arm. "You need a bandage or two. However, I don't have any with me. Do you Delly?" he asked his sister.

 

Adele shook her head. "No, sorry Fred," she apologized. "Are you okay little girl?"

 

"Yeah, I'll survive," Ginger said, picking herself up and dusting herself off. Then she was ready to start all over again. "Sorry about bumping into you like that, sir." She lowered her head sheepishly and only raised her eyes to look up at him.

 

Fred grinned. "It's okay. I'm not hurt. But you seem to be cut up. Want to come over to my hotel so I can fix you up? I'm no doctor, but I can put bandages on."

 

Ginger's eyes widened. Stranger danger. Her mother warned her about this. "No hotels. I don't know you at all. You might try to kidnap me! No!" she yelled, running away and stumbling in the process.

 

Adele stepped in front of Ginger. "It's okay, we won't hurt you," she said, getting down on the girl's eye level and holding her by the hands. "I take it you don't know who we are. My name is Adele Astaire and this is my brother Fred. We're here in New York performing on Broadway. It just happens that tonight we have the night off. Are you all alone?"

 

Even though Ginger was a still little nervous, she started to calm down. "Yes, I'm all alone right now," she said quietly. She was thinking about how much fun it would be to hang out with Broadway dancers. "My name is Ginger by the way. Can I come with you after all? My parents are spending the evening alone and they said to stay with an adult all night until nine-thirty."

 

Fred didn't know how to answer the little girl. His sister had a date with someone and so did he. They were just going to go their separate ways at that moment. He was the one who had bumped into the girl, Ginger, so he felt partly responsible. "Adele, you go where you were going. I'll let Ginge tag along," he said, already shortening Ginger's name as if he had known her all his life.

 

"Goodbye Fred. Goodbye Ginger," Adele said, walking off and leaving the two alone.

 

Fred looked down at his small companion. She was a cute little girl, with shoulder length red hair and shining intelligent blue eyes. He could only imagine what she would grow up to look like. He checked his watch. It would be a few more minutes until he'd have to go pick up his date, Phyllis. "What do you like to do? Do you know how to dance?" he asked. He truthfully didn't know how to play with a ten-year old girl. All that he did with his sister was dance.

 

"Dance?" Ginger repeated. She knew how to, just a little. She didn't know what kind of dancing he meant. She knew how to ask him without saying that she didn't know how. "Show me and I'll copy your steps."

 

That was all the encouragement that Fred needed. He started to tap dance easy steps, simple enough for her to copy. And copy them she did. She still needed lessons, but it wasn't bad for seeing them being done for the first time.

 

Ginger giggled as she practiced the steps on the sidewalk. "This is fun!" she exclaimed. "How am I doing, Mr. Astaire?"

 

"You're doing great!" Fred encouraged her. "And you don't have to call me Mr. Astaire, unless you like it better than Fred."

 

"I like Fred just fine," Ginger said, continuing to dance with him. She noticed that he seemed to be slowly making his way down the sidewalk, so she skipped over to him. "Where are you going now?" she asked curiously.

 

Fred looked down at Ginger for a few seconds but then quickly returned his gaze to the sidewalk in front of him. He didn't want to knock anyone else down. "I have to pick up Phyllis at her apartment," he explained.

 

Phyllis? Who was that? It may just be a pet or it could be another sibling of his. Ginger thought about that before she answered him. "Is she another little girl? Or is she a dog?"

 

Fred tried to hold back his laughter but couldn't help chuckling. Phyllis wasn't a dog, she was beautiful! That was his first thought. But then he realized what Ginger meant. Was she a dog with four legs and a tail. That was her real question. "Phyllis is a human, not an animal. And she's more around my age than being around yours."

 

"Oh," Ginger said, starting not to like this Phyllis. Little did she know, but she had a growing crush on this man, even though she was only ten. She had never felt envious before, so this was a new feeling rising in her heart. She couldn't explain it but felt like punching the other lady in the face, even if she was a nice person. Ginger made a promise in her heart that she would sabotage this Phyllis' chance at going out with Fred, even if it got herself into trouble with her brand new best friend. "Hold my hand so I don't fall down again," Ginger declared. It wasn't a question, it was a command. And, thankfully, Fred did so without questioning her motive, even though he knew she wasn't going to fall as she was dancing crazy steps just a little while before.

* * *

 

Fred found his lovely Phyllis outside of her apartment. She was waiting for him and she smiled her best smile as he walked up. However, her smile quickly faded when she saw who was tagging along. "Good evening my dearest, darling Fred. And who is this who you brought along when we were going out on a private dinner date?" she said with fake excitement in her voice.

 

Ginger quickly noticed that tone of voice and she rolled her eyes at the show Phyllis was putting on. She countered with the words, "What does my name mean to you?"

 

Fred, being the worrier that he was, nudged Ginger to get her to stop with the rude remarks. "This is Ginger, my little friend. She's not allowed home yet so I'm going to take care of her until she can go back to her hotel," he explained.

 

"I can see why she's not allowed back into the room. I wouldn't take care of such a rude child," Phyllis whispered, loud enough for both Fred _and_ Ginger to hear.

 

Ginger started to fake cry. "She hurt my feelings!" she cried, actually getting tears to fall down her cheeks.

 

"Phyllis!" Fred said, with annoyance in his voice. "It's okay Ginge, you're not going to go back home. I promised I'd take care of you and I will." He wiped away her tears with his finger and gently pushed her head up so that she was looking at him. "That's better. That's my little Ginger girl. Let's go to the restaurant now, shall we?" Ginger pulled hard on Fred's hand to make him walk faster, leaving Phyllis lagging behind. With a devilish smile, Ginger knew her plan was working perfectly.

* * *

By the time the threesome reached the restaurant, Ginger's arm was sore (she didn't have a bandage on it yet), Phyllis' feet ached, and Fred was, truthfully, a little confused as to why both girls seemed to be fighting with each other, even if it was just mentally and without words or their fists. (He was especially thankful for the latter. After all, Ginger was just a young girl!)

 

"Table under the reservation of Mr. Astaire," Phyllis said, realizing that Fred was not speaking up.

 

The restaurant host looked for the reservation and soon found it. "Excuse me madam, but Mr. Astaire asked for a table for two. Is that young lady also with you? If so, then you have three people," he said in his most dignified voice.

 

"Don't worry, I can count," Fred replied. He sighed and stepped to the side when Ginger cut in between him and Phyllis. "We'll need a table for three now."

 

The host took three menus out and searched for an available table. "You're fortunate--we only have one table left that seats three. It is in the corner. Follow me," he said, walking toward the table.

 

Ginger looked on in awe as she stepped on the soft carpet. This restaurant was fancy, that was plain to see. There weren't any other children here as she searched through the tables. With pride she walked on with a prance in her step and stayed directly to the side of Fred. "This is a nice table Freddy," she said, sitting closest to her best friend. She scooted the chair even closer to him and gave Phyllis a victorious look.

 

Fred nodded and took the menu from the host. He wondered what the other guests thought as they saw Ginger with them. This was not a place to bring a girl of her age. Maybe he should have left little Ginger with Adele after all. He looked at the words of the menu and was reading them, but he couldn't concentrate on what they said. "What are you going to get Phyllis? I'll take the exact copy of your meal," he said. He placed the menu down on the table and then looked over Ginger's shoulder to see what she was thinking of ordering. "Hey Gin, what do you feel like?"

 

"I'm still thinking," Ginger replied. She liked that Fred was paying more attention to her than to Phyllis. "Fred, could you pick something out for me?" she asked in her sweetest voice.

 

Phyllis was feeling more irritated by the second. That ten-year old was breaking her away from Fred! How dare she! And Fred asked her a question and didn't even wait for her answer! She took a deep breath and started to calm herself down. When the waiter came back, she ordered two filet mignon steaks with the side of mashed potatoes. Fred chimed in and said to get another one for Ginger, only half the size. (He asked if it could be half price too. Unfortunately, the answer was a firm no.)

* * *

After they had finished their meal, it was time for desert, Ginger's favorite part of dinner. This time, it was Fred who made the order. "Two coffees, two slices of chocolate cake, and one ice cream sundae with whipped cream overflowing and a cherry on top," he requested.

 

It was then that Ginger got a brilliant idea. "Fred, do you like sugar in your coffee?" she asked. "My mother and stepfather do. I'm just wondering..."

 

This was a strange question, yet Fred did not hesitate to answer her. "Sometimes, when I feel like it. Not tonight though," he said. He was still curious as to why she asked him that. Kids do ask the strangest things.

 

Phyllis was surprised that Fred didn't always have sugar in his coffee. Usually he did, whenever he was with her. "But Freddy dear, don't you normally have it when you are with me? I thought we were exactly alike when it came to putting sugar and cream in our coffee," she said. When she didn't get an answer from him, she got quiet for a moment and then spoke up again. "Fred Darling, I'm going outside to get some fresh air. Do you mind coming with me?"

 

Fred looked at her in a very strange and baffled way. People were acting very odd tonight. "Okay Phyllis, lead the way. I'll be back Ginger," he called over his shoulder.

 

"How perfect can things get?" Ginger asked herself. This was just what she needed. She reached over for the sugar and then got the salt shaker. She emptied the sugar out under the table (which explains the infestation of ants that the restaurant got flooded with a few hours later) and filled the sugar container to the brim with salt. She glanced over her shoulder to see if Freddy and Phyllis were coming back yet but didn't see them. Ginger slid the two containers back to where they belonged and sat back in her chair like a good girl.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Phyllis was telling Fred all about that naughty girl. "Fred, I demand that you take her home. Now!" she exclaimed. She had a few people give them dirty looks for causing such a scene, but she didn't stop there. "I can't go on with you anymore if you continue to shower that girl with more attention that you give me. It's like you have fallen in love with a ten-year old!"

 

Fred's cheeks were red hot with embarrassment. He silently pleaded with Phyllis to shut up and be quiet. With a calm and steady voice, he told her, "Fine then. Finish dinner with me and then you can go home. I can live without you just as you can get along without me, you independent woman."

 

Phyllis was shocked at the way he treated her. With her nose in the air, she marched right back to their table, where Ginger was still sitting. Only this time, she had a big ice cream sundae in front of her. Their coffees had arrived and so did their cake. Phyllis was so angry that she poured out a lot of sugar into her coffee cup and dumped most of the cream into it. Ginger gave her a look of disgust. That was very greedy of her to take so much of the cream and the salt disguised as sugar. As Phyllis took her first sip, Ginger stopped eating her sundae to enjoy the show. The look on her face was enough for both Fred and Ginger to burst out laughing. "Oh!" Phyllis cried out of astonishment. "You little brat! How dare you!" And those were the last words that Ginger heard Phyllis speak, for she had ran out of the restaurant all the way to a cab.

 

Fred didn't know if he should be angry at Ginger or amused. "I know you put something in her coffee. Don't look so innocent," he said, shoving Ginger playfully.

 

"You're not mad at me, are you Fred? I admit it--I switched the salt and the sugar out. But please don't be mad!" Ginger cried, standing up and coming over to Fred.

 

He didn't mean to make her feel bad. "There, there Ginger. Don't cry about it. I thought it was funny. And anyway, I already broke up with her," Fred explained, pushing out his chair and putting Ginger on his leg.

 

"Then will you wait for me to grow up?" Ginger asked hopefully. "When I get to be around eighteen, I can marry you. And we can have twenty kids and we can be the best dancers in America!"

 

Fred chuckled. "Aw Ginger. I'm at least ten years older than you. Why would you want to marry me? Anyway, there's probably a nice boy waiting for you to grow up back in your home state. You marry him and I'll come and visit you," he said.

 

Ginger's blue eyes stared into Fred's eyes. "You'd visit me all the time?" she said with sincerity in her voice.

 

"All the time," Fred confirmed. "Just not too much as to make your husband jealous." He patted Ginger on the knee and she stood up, the former standing up after her. He looked at his watch and his eyes widened. "Oh gosh, look at the time Ginge! Your parents are going to get worried!" he suddenly exclaimed. He paid the bill and placed a generous tip with it. After that, he ran with her all the way back to her hotel and dropped her off in front of it. "Goodbye Ginger. Thanks for the best evening ever."

 

"Goodbye Freddy," Ginger said. Her heart ached to see him leave. As she watched him walk down the sidewalk, she ran after him. "Come here," she said, tugging on his jacket sleeve. He did so willingly and she gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "That's until next time we meet," she said shyly, already walking away.

 

Fred waved again and without another word, somehow knew that this would not be the last time he saw that sweet child. _Someday,_ he thought, _someday, I'll find her again._

 

Ginger made haste as she ran up toward her room. She used the key that she had in her pocket and got inside. Her parents were not yet home and the babysitter had left a note that explained why she wasn't there. (She had assumed that Ginger had gone with her parents after all.) Ginger ripped the note and threw it in the waste basket. She had sat back down in her favorite chair and let out a long, happy sigh. She just realized that she was exhausted. She was half asleep when she realized her parents had come in.

 

"Did you have a good time with your sitter? Was your babysitter nice to you?" Lela asked, walking over to Ginger and grabbing her by the hand, leading her to the bedroom.

 

Ginger responded in a dreamy tone, "Oh yes. The babysitter was the most wonderful babysitter ever. I had the best time of my life."

 


End file.
